Arjo Support Surface Selection Guide

​The international guidelines good practice statement SS2 suggests it is good practice to use a full body support surface that appropriately accommodates the weight and body mass distribution of the individual¹.​

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Support surfaces that accommodate plus size patients should account for both their weight and body morphology, providing adequate width to facilitate repositioning and/or independent in bed mobility.​

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Extended periods of lying or sitting on a particular part of the body without redistributing the pressure leads to deformation of tissues and, ultimately if damage thresholds are exceeded, tissue damage in the form of a PI¹.​

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Repositioning and mobilisation are essential preventive measures for reducing PI occurrence. ​

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The international guidelines good practice statement R3 suggests it is good practice to use specialised equipment designed to reduce friction and shear when repositioning individuals². ​

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Caregivers may also consider manual handling techniques and specialised equipment designed to minimise shear forces. This can include, but is not limited to, the use of low-friction fabrics, mechanical lifting devices, transfer sheets, and bed features such as turn assist - where appropriate for the individual’s needs.

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The International guidelines good practice statement SS1, clarifies It is good practice for organisations to maintain an inventory of, or access to, a range of full body support surfaces appropriate to the clinical context². ​

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This is because individuals at risk of PIs have varying clinical needs, preferences and goals of care; therefore, the entity that provide full body support surfaces should ensure there is access to different full body support surfaces with a range of performance characteristics and design features to address the various and diverse needs of individuals².

​The International guidelines good practice statement SS1, clarifies it is good practice for organisations to maintain an inventory of, or access to, a range of full body support surfaces appropriate to the clinical context¹. ​

​

This is because individuals at risk of PIs have varying clinical needs, preferences and goals of care; therefore, the entity that provides full body support surfaces should ensure there is access to different full body support surfaces with a range of performance characteristics and design features to address the various and diverse needs of individuals¹.​

Clinicians are responsible for correct set up of the device and this is likely to have implications for training, particularly in areas where:​

• Staff turnover is high​
• The environment of care is unsupervised e.g. home care​
• Where patient acuity may divert attention e.g. intensive care​

Manually adjusted: may be most appropriate for patients who are less vulnerable to harm should the device be set incorrectly.e.g. patients with lower risk factors, who can make some independent position changes.​

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Automatic adjusted: reduce the risk of incorrect settings or missed adjustments following changes in patient positioning. They are designed to adapt in real-time, optimising internal cell pressures to maintain high levels of comfort and effective pressure redistribution regardless of weight or patient positioning. They may be considered most suitable for vulnerable patients. ​

Targeted offloading facilitates complete removal of pressure from specific, vulnerable areas of the body, such as the heels, sacrum, or hips.

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The use of integrated wound valve technology feature on a support surface helps caregivers to provide the intervention by completely deflating individual cells along the full length of the patient’s body. Individual cell deflation can be targeted at sensitive anatomical areas at particular risk of pressure injury to off-load pressure for as long as necessary.

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The International Guidelines good practice statement H1 suggests it is good practice to elevate the heels of individuals at risk of pressure injuries, so the heels are not in contact with the full body support surface¹, the use of offloading wound valve technology facilitates the removal of direct pressure on this sensitive anatomical area.